Tadao Cern’s Installation French Exit Invites Us To Contemplate Human Responses

The contemporary artist has visualized an immersive art installation using dried grass strands, grouped together and suspended like a large cloud floating above the viewer. Covering the entire ceiling of the exhibition room, the project transforms this easily accessible and delicate material into a work of art that spurs contemplation. Warm light illuminates the soft tones and textures of the strands, adding a gentle brightness and a sense of calm to the otherwise darkened and austere space. An arresting artwork to behold and reflect upon from different angles, the installation is an ode to ghosting. “‘French Exit’ is a term that describes the act of leaving a social gathering or bad date without saying goodbye,” shares the artist in a statement. “I am filling pages of our collective memory book, because we might be leaving without a proper goodbye.”